A3G Blinded By Excessively Fabulous Photo!!!

Judge John G. Roberts and his advisers Wednesday during a break in his confirmation hearings. From left, Judge Roberts; his wife, Jane; Mike O'Neill, the Judiciary Committee counsel; Rachel Brand, assistant attorney general [at the DOJ's Office of Legal Policy]; Ed Gillespie, a White House adviser; Kristi R. Macklin, deputy assistant attorney general; and William Kelley, deputy White House counsel. Stephen Crowley/The New York Times. [Update: As noted here, Ms. Macklin was originally misidentified in the caption as Dabney Friedrich, associate White House counsel.]

WOW -- simply sensational! Almost all of the pictured figures are Article III superstars who have previously graced the pages of this blog (and several of them are also profiled in this interesting Legal Times article).

Judge and Mrs. Roberts, of course, have received copious coverage in UTR. Rachel L. Brand (OT 2002/Kennedy) -- who led the "murder boards" for Judge Roberts, and who was (quite accurately) described by the New York Times as "a rising star in the administration's legal circles" -- is UTR's reigning Prom Queen. The brilliant William K. Kelley (OT 1988/Burger/Scalia) has been the subject of much rumormongering in these pages as well; he should be considered an excellent possibility for the D.C. Circuit seat that will be vacated this fall by Judge Harry T. Edwards.

The super-high-powered Michael E. O'Neill (OT 1996/Thomas) has not been discussed in detail in this blog before, but now is the perfect time to pass along some tidbits that were previously submitted by a loyal reader:

Sentelle-tubbie Mike O'Neill (OT 1996/Thomas) is not the happiest of campers. Let's just say that he was no "token liberal" in the Thomas chambers, yet he is now chief counsel to the liberal Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Arlen Specter. Word on the street is that he will see the job through [the] Supreme Court fight[s] this year, and possible reform of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines (he's a former Sentencing Commissioner), but is otherwise hot to trot back to the GMU [George Mason University] campus, where he has tenure.

Quite interesting... This gossip about Michael O'Neill is confirmed in part by the Legal Times article: "[T]his Brigham Young University alum was hired [as Chief Counsel to the Judiciary Committee] in January because 'he assuages some of the [conservatives'] concerns about Specter.'"

Okay, let's try something new here at Underneath Their Robes: a caption contest! In the comments to this post, please share your suggested responses to this question: "What were they thinking?" (As always, A3G reserves the right to delete comments that are inappropriate, offensive, or just not to her liking.) A3G will kick things off with these examples (which should be taken in the spirit of good-natured jest with which they are offered):

Jane Sullivan Roberts: "So, Kristi, you think you can seduce my husband with those nice legs of yours? Well, think again! You might have worked on the Hill before -- but I clawed my way to a Biglaw partnership. And satellite procurement isn't tiddlywinks, my dear. I'll take you any day of the week!"

Rachel Brand: "Is this a bad angle for me -- do I not look good in profile? Why is John staring at Kristi like that?"